What Is the Biennial Review under the Drug-Free Schools Rules?

A college or university must conduct a biennial review of its drug and alcohol abuse prevention program to determine the program's effectiveness, implement changes if they are needed, and make sure its disciplinary sanctions are consistently enforced (34 CFR 86.100(b)). The review is part of the Department of Education's Drug-Free Schools and Campuses Regulations.

What the review covers. The review looks at whether the program works and whether the institution actually applies the sanctions it promises in its annual notice to students and employees. The annual notice items are listed in 34 CFR 86.100(a).

Making results available. On request, the institution must make available to the Secretary of Education and to the public a copy of each item distributed in the annual notice and the results of its biennial review (34 CFR 86.103(a)).

Record retention. The institution must keep the annual notice items, the biennial review results and any other records reasonably related to its compliance with the certification for three years after the fiscal year in which each record was created. If any litigation, claim, negotiation, audit, review or other action involving the records starts before the three years end, the records must be kept until the action is complete and the issues arising from it are resolved, or until the end of the three years, whichever is later (34 CFR 86.103(b)).

Department reviews. Each year the Secretary reviews a sample of institutions' drug prevention programs (34 CFR 86.101). An institution selected for review must give the Department access to personnel, records, documents and other information needed for the review (34 CFR 86.102).

Comparable record rules. DOT-regulated employers keep testing program records for set periods too, described in the FAQ on DOT drug and alcohol record retention. The FAQ on what compliance training is covers how training records support audits.

The FAQ on the Drug-Free Schools and Campuses program requirements lists the program elements, and the FAQ on penalties for violating the rules explains what happens when a review finds a failure.